After every win, Woodbridge players of the game “ring the bell” in the locker room. The Barrons have done it eight times this season with an 8-1 record heading into Tuesday’s home game against South Plainfield. (Source: @barronsbaseball on Instagram)
Just to give you an idea how good – and balanced – the GMC Red Division is, Woodbridge began the year 8-0, Old Bridge just knocked off the No. 3 team in the state in Seton Hall Prep, and South Plainfield just handed the Barrons their first loss of the year.
And that’s just the top three teams in the Red.
Two of them will face off again Tuesday morning at 10:00 – No. 3 South Plainfield and No. 4 Woodbridge – in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with the Tigers and Knights tied, both 2.5 games behind the Barrons.
Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the play-by-play, with pregame from Woodbridge High School set for 9:45 am in another Spring Break morning matchup. Click here to listen.
Woodbridge has been red hot to start the season, playing all of their games in the division thus far. The Barrons opened with 8-7 and 9-4 wins over St. Joseph-Metuchen, then swept South Brunswick, East Brunswick and Edison before taking their first loss of the year, a 7-3 defeat in South Plainfield Saturday afternoon. The Tigers scored a run each in the first and second, then exploded for five in the fifth to go up 7-0, and held Woodbridge to a three-run rally in the sixth that fell short.
Top-to-bottom, the Barrons have been hitting well this season, led by players like senior catcher Derek Oxner (team-leading .400 average, 6 RBI), junior Xavier Diaz (.310, team-best 8 RBI), and senior Ryan Leach (.294, 7 RBI, 2 HR).
On the mound, they’ve gotten great work from their three starters – Kevin Arroyo, Michael Gurovich and Ryan Leach – who have combined for a 1.70 ERA, with Arroyo and Leach both individually having earned run averages under two.
South Plainfield, meanwhile, is on its longest win streak of the season, at three. At 7-3 overall, they’re 5-3 in the Red, tied for second with Old Bridge, and have two non-conference wins, one each over Millburn and Summit. Their three losses all have been in the division – one each to St. Joseph-Metuchen, Old Bridge and Monroe. They split with the Falcons and Knights.
The lineup hasn’t been as consistent one through nine like Woodbridge has, but junior Dom Massaro is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting a blazing .485 with eight runs batted in and a home run. Seniors Dan Kapsch (.364, team-best 9 RBI) and Nick Irizarry (.333, 6 RBI) also are contributing at the plate.
The Tigers have mainly used four different starters. Kevin Penny (2-1, 4.40 ERA) will get the start for them on Tuesday, while Ryan Leach (2-0, 1.67 ERA) will get the nod for the Barrons.
Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:
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